PROJECT BACKGROUND
The use of digital communication media makes us feel very connected. Wherever we are, the smartphone keeps us connected to the whole world through email, Ping, Twitter or Facebook. But our physical surroundings, and the people appearing in that space, are almost completely ignored. We escape into our tiny individual tech bubble as soon as we enter public spaces.
MEET YOUR STRANGER
The “Meet Your Stranger” project reverses that phenomenon. Not by trying to eliminate the mobile phone, but by using the same communication channel, turned it into a mechanism to re-connect to the local environment. And the strangers present there.
MOBILE STORIES IN PUBLIC SPACE
To provide a context for a situation in which strangers are meeting other strangers, a storyline has been written. Participants choose a specific role and they play parts of the story, triggered by the presence of the right opponent for their next scene. The specific stranger might be a new person each time, but the character they play will be a familiar one, because these characters have appeared before in the scenes played previously. It gives the comfortable feeling of meeting individuals you know, even though you are standing in front of complete strangers.
LIMITATION OF HI-TECH
Hi-tech features of current day smartphones combined with an analog protocol are enabling the smooth matching between the characters for each scene. GPS-tracking helps detect the presence of a relevant opponent to the point where the opponent is nearby. Since you don't know your specific stranger yet, some expressive singal helps to find each other: waving a carefully designed pattern, holding the mobile phone in the air. Each scene has a specific waving pattern. By spotting a mirrored version of your pattern, you're finding your opponent.
Next, the smartphone turns into an online souffleur. Providing you with your part of the dialogue of the scene. Appearing throughout the text are buttons to activate the portable decor, appearing around the actors in augmented reality. At the end of the scene, you can say bye to your stranger, or chat on a little 'backstage', ofcourse.
INFO
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012 - IFFR "Signals: For Real" program
NEWS UPDATE: It will be minus 8 degrees on Saturday, but we'll compensate with traditional Dutch "koek&sopie" (lo-tech solution) and 10 pairs of Mujjo smartphone gloves (hi-tech solution) for the first 'strangers' on the Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam at 6PM on Februari 4th
More info: meetyourstranger.com
